Abstract
Communications satellites have been an important line of development of the Chinese space program. In 1984, China launched its first communications satellite, the beginning of a long series that has brought television and modern communications to the whole Chinese landmass. This began the Dong Fang Hong series, now at Dong Fang Hong 5, with numerous derivatives and relays (e.g. Tianlian). China attempted to open its space program to launching western communications satellites (comsats), but this coincided with a prolonged, acrimonious and continuing standoff with the United States which still affects their relationship. Despite this, China has launched several comsats for foreign customers (e.g. Venezuela, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bolivia) and continues to develop its domestic series.
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Harvey, B. (2019). Communications. In: China in Space. Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19588-5_5
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